Martin Schmidt

(*1963, Munich)
lives and works in Munich, Germany

Martin Schmidt graduated 1992 in Fine Art / Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Art Munich with a diploma in the master class (Meisterschüler).
Since then he developed his work towards a site-specific practice with a critical view on architectural structures and urban infrastructures as phenomena of the social and political circumstances. His sculptural approach is based on the transformation of daily objects and situations through displacement or appropriation. For his solo show at Kunsthalle Mannheim, connected to the renowned Hector Art Price he was awarded in 1997, Martin Schmidt built a courtyard with gravel floor inside of the exhibition space, that turned the architectural setting of the museum into an outdoor public space (“Steingarten”, 1999). The work “Tankstelle” (2000) was positioned at a busy crossing in the city centre of Munich. The abstract sculpture consists out of four cubical forms and reminds in proportion, size and colour a typical German filling station. Reacting on the particular situation Martin Schmidt defines the site in a new way using symbolic forms and creating non-expected images. At the same time he points out the formal or social function of these places.

His work was shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland and Italy (Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Folkwang Museum Essen, Kunstherbst Berlin, K3 Space Zurich) and awarded among others with the Villa Romana Prize, Florence and the Villa Massimo Prize, Rome. While developing his international career he was teaching from 1994 -2003 in the sculpture department at the Academy of Fine Art Munich. He is member of several committees and juries, for example the public art committee of the City of Munich (QUIVID).

Contact

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Homepage

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